African Music Concerts Week of Jul 17 - Jul 23

Come out to see the Pulitzer nominated play about Black-on-Black discrimination in the Gullah-Geechee culture of South Carolina's Sea Islands. The play investigates the racism that favors lighter skinned individuals over their more African looking neighbors. Love, alcohol, generational chasms and other complexities of everyday life are intricately wound into a heart-wrenching story. Highly recommended. This show began in February and has been doing so well that it is in its final extension through August 28!

You can wait until Sunday and see Femi at the Hollywood Bowl with a gazillion other people, or you can experience him up close and personal in Flagstaff, AZ. This is a road trip that I am taking to get out of town for the weekend. Drive up Thursday near the Grand Canyon, pop in for a sunrise view, then off to Flagstaff to see the sites and hike the mountains. The Orpheum seats only 700 at capacity, so you are assured of being up close. Joining Femi is the Senegalese hiphop group Daara J. For a special deal, check the Embassy Suites in Flagstaff and mention code "ORP" to get a $109 2-room suite with cocktails and breakfast included. That certainly beats 2 hours of the parking lot at the Bowl!